How to make a delenatii have most intense flower color and best flower?

[The Orchid Boy]

I have a 2 growth delenatii that almost bloomed until I knocked the buds off last year. I'm hoping it will try again. Is their anything I can do to make it have the most intense flower color and a good overall bloom? I've heard of cooler/warmer temps, higher/lower light, higher/lower humidity, and more/less fertlilizer. Do any of these really work? It is under T5s now, 85F-67F, 50%-60% humidity, in a clay pot in bark, sphag, perlite mix.

 

[abax]

K-Lite fertilizer

 

[Paphman910]

Get the vinicolor form of delenatii.

Paphman910

 

[Ozpaph]

your humidity might be on the low side.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I'm going to get the vinicolor form at the orchid show in March from Orchid Inn and am going to start using K-lite soon also. I don't know how the color will be because I knocked the buds off last time, I just want it the bloom to be as good as it can.

 

[Ross]

I've had deeper colored flowers on the same plant when it has bloomed in cooler temps. This is one of the few times I've noticed this phenomenon, though.

Here is an August blooming of a Paph Mary Zdilla

Here is another blooming of the same plant in early April when temps were cooler

 

[andre]

Vini colour of the species is best for dark colours. I always keep them shaded and a bit cooler to enhance colour. That works for me in my growing conditions.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

In general, cooler temperatures produce darker flowers. For many years I had a fairreanum "Giganteum", which, while not very gigantic, had incredibly dark flowers. One year I let the bloom develop in a warmer room, and the flower was almost unrecognizable, with a white dorsal instead of mainly red.

 

[Rick]

While the cooler temps may produce a darker color, I think the higher humidity will get you a better form.

Opening up those petals takes hydrostatic pressure, and at 50% and less RH, the plant may have to work extra hard to get enough water in that flower to get it fully open.

Paph lowii seems to be especially susceptible to having "hound dog ear" petals when the humidity is down.

Double check your hygrometers too. Just because it says on the NOAA website that outdoor humidity may be 50-60%, that you have that in the heated house.

Just today, the winds coming down from the north, and went into work to check our climate controlled test chambers, and found humidifiers bone dry, and humidity running between 20-30%.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Does higher or lower light have any effects?

Another question: Let's say I let the spike/buds develope under the T5s, the first bloom opens and I bring the plant upstairs where it's cooler. Could the second bloom be darker? I kinda think that it would be too late to have any real effect.

 

[NYEric]

The best way to get the best blooms is proper feeding and watering. Light = heat so that will effect the color. Yes moving it to cooler after bud initiation will have some effect.